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Lisa d
London, United Kingdom

Great place to stay

Review of The Star
5.0 of 5 bubblesReviewed 4 weeks ago
I know I'm just adding to the many five star reviews, but having spent a lovely night at the Star, I feel I want to tell people about it. First of all, reservations were incredibly helpful: we had to cancel our booking for December as I was in hospital with flu, but as we had been given a voucher that was already past its expiry date, I didn't know if they would be happy to honour it. They were. Our room (juliet balcony in the 60s block) was beautifully done, the furnishings felt solid and were well looked after. The bed was so comfortable I asked where the mattress was from (we need a new mattress), and Alex (who was at breakfast the next morning) told me. The bed linen felt lovely, the shower was a decent pressure. It felt like a real treat to come back from dinner and for the bathroom to have been cleaned, and everything tidied. Every member of staff we came across was helpful and friendly, and seemed to enjoy working there. The open fires in winter (it was very cold that weekend!) were a delight, but our room was also very warm. I loved everything from the guides for several local walks (in a convenient wallet) in each room, to the design of things like the water carafes (which I now want at home!) It was a joy to have piles of books in all the rooms, and the library was great for afternoon tea and to sit in after dinner. I loved the magnifying mirror in the bathroom (brilliant touch). The food was good but not great - we enjoyed the meal (salmon and avocado, followed by pork tenderloin in my case, steak in my husband's) but would agree with some comments that the starter was very chilled. Breakfast was also fine. I would return in a heartbeat, the village is charming (I wondered whether the Polizzi design touch has spread) and the walks in the area are stunning. It's hard to fault for a weekend away, and I'm sure that has something to do with the fact that the owners are very present.
Date of stay: January 2025
Trip type: Travelled as a couple
5.0 of 5 bubblesValue
5.0 of 5 bubblesRooms
5.0 of 5 bubblesLocation
5.0 of 5 bubblesCleanliness
5.0 of 5 bubblesService
5.0 of 5 bubblesSleep Quality
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Reviewed 8 January 2025

We spent one night at The Star for dinner, bed and breakfast to celebrate my husband's 70th birthday. The hotel is larger than I imagined. Its very nice indeed, fitted with an eclectic and unusual range of furniture and objects, while still retaining its old world charm. Our bedroom was lovely, large and comfortable with a big shower room and space to hang clothes. The whole hotel is a delight, very clean and welcoming. However, the dinner wasn't quite up to the high standards of the rest of the hotel. The presentation of the food wasn't particularly good. I chose a simple beetroot and goat's cheese starter, something I've had many times before. In this case the starter consisted of three of four slices of beetroot, four smallish wedges of cheese and this was covered by a mass of rocket, several large, very cold, slices of tomato and was absolutely drowned in dressing. I left the rocket and tomato. My next course, was an array of grilled fish. The fish was good quality, but had absolutely no seasoning or flavour. The fennel and watercress salad on the side was cold and tasteless. The whole thing needed a sharp dressing and proper seasoning to lift it. My husband's said his pate followed by lamb cutlets was ok, but certainly not exceptional. At breakfast which was good, I had mushrooms on toast that had more flavour than any of the food at dinner. Possibly because its a fairly quiet time of year, the dinner wasn't quite up to The Star's usual standard, I hope this is the case. Luckily we were on a deal. If we had to pay the hefty full price for the food, I think we would have been very disappointed. All in all we enjoyed our stay, The hotel is lovely in a great village.

Date of stay: January 2025
  • Trip type: Travelled as a couple
    • Value
    • Location
    • Sleep Quality
    • Rooms
    • Cleanliness
    • Service
Thank gingerpip
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 2 January 2025 via mobile

I must start this review by saying that we had originally booked a four night Christmas break at the Grand at Eastbourne arriving on the 23rd December. After staying one night we decided that it was so bad that we would rather cut our losses, and loss the thousands of pounds we had spent and sit at home alone with no festivities or food rather then stay at this dreadful place a minute more.

So we packed our bags and for some reason I decided to call The star to ask if they had any availability. I knew it was a long shot as they are normally booked up months in advance at Christmas but it was worth a shot.

My call was answered by a really lovely young man “Calam” who told me, to my absolute delight that they had just had a cancellation and there was in fact room at the inn for us. And on Christmas Eve. I was so overwhelmed that I didn’t actually hear anything else he said.

Well what a place, I thought I had gone from hell to heaven within 1 hour. The hotel is absolutely beautiful. Both Olga and Alex have not missed a trick. Everything from the beautiful decor, to the staff, service and food was just perfect. The attention to detail is incredible and I couldn’t find a single fault. Now that’s saying something from me whose nick name is high maintenance!

We stayed for three nights and really didn’t want to leave. The carol singers on Christmas Eve were great as were the lovely surprises
( I don’t want to spoil it for future guests) over the 3 days. I loved every single thing about The star. Even the guests they attract are lovely and all so super friendly.

We even heard from the locals that Olga and Alex have done so much for the beautiful village and continue to support the local businesses every step of the way

I am not religious but I am pretty sure that on the 23rd Dec my father sent a message from heaven telling me to follow the star and all our Christmas wishes would be answered.

Just go, it’s pure class

Date of stay: December 2024
Trip type: Travelled with family
Thank Nicola H
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 2 January 2025

Christmas Eve dinner at the Star this year was wonderful in each and every respect: delightful service, delicious food and wine, fabulous festive ambience (with carol singers even!). To top it off, the elegant Olga P was present in all her radiance. Could not recommend it more highly.

Date of stay: December 2024
Trip type: Travelled with friends
Thank Sonya V
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 29 December 2024

We stayed here Christmas last year had such a great time we booked again for a weekend in September and also this xmas . Hotel is still wonderful ,spotlessly clean and nothing is too much trouble for the sweet staff,however we missed the fact that the owner was away and she has her eagle eye on things ,the Carol service was a shambles this time with no real service for the free champagne, plus I was charged £20 for two glasses of mulled wine ten minutes before it was a free glass each , I complained but to no avail which I thought was odd being the season of goodwill etc ,.Every purchase at the bar includes 20 per cent service so most people including us spend a small fortune over 3 days so was a bit miffed to be rebuffed . The Panettone was just left instead of someone serving it , was very sad as still there two days later .All our meals were fab except for Xmas dinner which last year was several small courses ,this time more traditional but definitely the kitchen was under strain as our meals were not presented nicely which is a big part of enjoyment ,too much on tbe plate and not arranged well - no free glass of champagne as quoted in the package ..sorry about the minor quibbles but someone needs to have feedback surely.we had a great time in all but need to let people know if it's not 100 per cent .

Room tip: Bring coffee if you don't want cafetiere from room serv ice ,tea bags are provided .
Date of stay: December 2024
  • Trip type: Travelled with family
    • Value
    • Location
    • Sleep Quality
    • Rooms
    • Cleanliness
    • Service
Thank Phill H
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 28 December 2024 via mobile

We’ve stayed before but this was our first Christmas away in almost ten years and I’m delighted we chose The Star to spend it in. I’m a fan of the Polizzi Collection because it represents quality, luxury and excellent service in a relaxed setting where you feel both a sense of place and at home. It sounds easy but it’s difficult to achieve and we thoroughly enjoyed being pampered. Every detail was thought through from the carol singers, the stockings on Christmas morning, the beautiful decorations and the most delicious Christmas lunch. Coffee and mince pies in the Library with the morning papers and a roaring fire was such a treat. Huge thanks go to the staff who worked incredibly hard, giving up their own Christmas to make ours very special. A Christmas to remember!

Date of stay: December 2024
Trip type: Travelled with family
Thank Mac7471
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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